Drying Potential of Leaves Oil of Zanthoxylum armatum DC from North India

The study on drying and its social acceptance has increased rapidly. Among different drying techniques, shade drying is one of the most feasible methods to keep intact from the decay of the main active components of the plant materials. Shade drying is an ancient drying method that increases durability, major constituents and activity of the plant material. Research was conducted to examine the drying potential of aromatic leaves oil of Zanthoxylum armatum DC. The fresh plant material was collected from Lohaghat, Champawat district of Uttarakhand and hydrodistilled before and after shade drying to assess the changes in the quality of volatile constituents by GC and GC-MS techniques. A two-tailed paired t-test was executed to assess the difference between drying treatments using MS-Excel. The major components in the fresh oil were 2-undecane, linalool, (E)-β-ocimene, α-pinene and β-phellandrene. In the oil from dried material, the three predominant compounds were noted. A significant increase was observed in the percentage of β-phellandrene, undecanal and myrcene after shade drying (p<0.01). Five components absent in the fresh plant material appeared and one disappeared during the drying process. Shade drying significantly influenced the essential oil composition of Z. armatum.